Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

by David Allen

Decoration

Equipment

What If an Item Is Too Big to Go in the In-Basket? If you can’t physically put something in the in-basket, then write a note on a piece of letter-size plain paper to represent it.

Getting “in” to empty doesn’t mean actually doing all the actions and projects that you’ve collected. It just means identifying each item and deciding what it is, what it means, and what you’re going to do with it.

Never put anything back into “in.”

The focus on just one thing forces the requisite attention and decision-making to get through all your stuff.

Let me remind you here that a less-than-sixty-second, fun-to-use general-reference filing system within arm’s reach of where you sit is a mission-critical component of full implementation of this methodology.

Until you know what the next physical action is, there’s still more thinking required before anything can happen.

When you get to a phone or to your computer, you want to have all your thinking completed so you can use the tools you have and the location you’re in to more easily get things done, having already defined what there is to do.

If the next action can be done in two minutes or less, do it when you first pick the item up.

Many people find that getting into the habit of following the two-minute rule creates a dramatic improvement in their productivity.

The two-minute rule is magic.

If you do delegate an action to someone else, and if you care at all whether something happens as a result, you’ll need to track it.

It’s important that you record the date on everything you hand off to others.

Again, I define a “project” as any outcome you’re committed to achieving that will take more than one action step to complete.

Airtight organization is required for your focus to remain on the broader horizon.

A “Projects” list • Project support material • Calendared actions and information • “Next Actions” lists • A “Waiting For” list • Reference material • A “Someday/Maybe” list

Once you know what you need to keep track of (covered in the previous chapter, on Processing), all you really need is lists and folders for reference and support materials.

I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. —Oliver Wendell Holmes

When I refer to a “list,” keep in mind that I mean nothing more than a grouping of items with some similar characteristic.

For the purposes of organization, as I’ve said, there are two basic kinds of actions: those that must be done on a certain day and/or at a particular time, and those that just need to be done as soon as you can get to them, around your other calendared items.

You’ll probably find that at least a few of the following common list headings for next actions will make sense for you: • “Calls” • “At Computer” • “Errands” • “Office Actions” or “At Office” (miscellaneous) • “At Home” • “Agendas” (for people and meetings) • “Read/Review”

“Calls”

“At Computer”

“Errands”

“Office Actions”/“At Office”

“At Home”

“Agendas”

“Read/Review”

There’s an obvious danger in putting reminders of things you need to do somewhere out of sight. The function of an organization system is primarily to supply the reminders you need to

see when you need to see them, so you can trust your choices about what you’re doing (and what you’re not doing).

Remember, you can’t do a project, you can only do the action steps it requires.

The real value of the “Projects” list lies in the complete review it can provide (at least once a week), allowing you to ensure that you have action steps defined for all of your projects, and that nothing is slipping through the cracks.

The organizing system merely provides placeholders for all your open loops and options so your mind can more easily make the necessary intuitive, moment-to-moment strategic decisions.

Personal/Professional

Delegated Projects

Specific Types of Projects

Attached Notes

E-mail and Databases

Paper-Based Files

Pages in Notebooks

Interestingly, one of the biggest problems with most people’s personal management systems is that they blend a few actionable things with a large amount of data and material that has value but no action attached.

General-Reference Filing

Large-Category Filing

Rolodexes and Contact Managers

Libraries and Archives: Personalized Levels

The last thing to deal with in your organization system is how to track things that you may want to reassess in the future.

You may also be surprised to find that some of the things you write on the list will actually come to pass, almost without your making any conscious effort to make them happen.

Make an Inventory of Your Creative Imaginings

Reassess Your Current Projects